In the Silence of Laughter
by Evilevergreen
Summary: [Complete] The only thing worst than the silence, was the laughter.
1. Silencing Truth

**In the Silence of Laughter**  
By Evilevergreen

**Summary**: The only thing worst than the silence, was the laughter.

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Posted: March 10, 2006**  
**

**Chapter One: Silencing Truth  
**

Tenten giggled happily against Kankuro's lips as they stumbled up the stairs of her apartment complex. It was late and they had just gotten back from a large celebration. Kankuro's sister, Temari had finally married her off and on boyfriend of four years, Shikamaru. Both Kankuro and Tenten arrived at the wedding separately, as was planned as she was Temari's Maid of Honor, and Kankuro was one of Shikamaru's Groomsmen.

Though deeply in love, Tenten and Kankuro didn't see a lot of each other. They had responsibilities and duties in each of their villages that could not be ignored. Tenten admired Temari, for she considered her a fierce opponent and highly skilled, because of that, it came as a complete shock when Temari told her that she was giving up the ninja life to be with Shikamaru.

Kankuro had looked at Tenten so longingly, as he watched his sister tell her the news. He knew Tenten loved being a ninja, he would never asked her to give it up for him. He wasn't that selfish, but he didn't know how long he could stand only seeing her when he had business in Konoha.

He held her tightly, for they were both slightly drunk and trying not to fall back down the stairs as they continued up. "Oops," Tenten whispered, amazed as the heel of her shoe broke.

She wanted to pick it up, but Kankuro wouldn't let her. "Leave it," he told her and urged her to keep going. He only had three days in Konoha and all he wanted to do was lock themselves in her apartment and not come out until it was time for him to go home.

Kankuro pulled her to him again, one hand firmly on her back as he had her walk backwards, while the other was gripping her ass. Tenten gave out a squeal as he squeeze it. Kankuro chuckled a bit at her surprise. He then slid his hands down and had her wrap her arms around his neck before picking her up and finally carrying her to the second floor.

Once there, he pushed her up against her door roughly, attacking her neck with sweet wet kisses that made Tenten shudder as the cool wind swept by. She closed her eyes as she titled back her head and sighed in pleasure. Kankuro soon let her feet touch the ground again, but only so that his hands could be free to once again explore the curves of her well toned body. He gently pressed himself against her, allowing her to know exactly what parts of him were growing excited.

She turned around slowly as she dug in her purse for her house key. As she did that, Kankuro pushed her spaghetti strap off her shoulder before kissing the tender, exposed skin. If they didn't get inside in the next thirty seconds, Kankuro swore, he would take her right here for all to see. But as she finally unlocked the door a strange feeling overcame Kankuro's senses. His brow furrowed as he looked around, he knew this sensation, having grown up with an ill tempered brother. . . _murderous intent_. He soon realized that it was coming from inside Tenten's apartment.

"Tenten, wait!" he called, but it was too late as the door swung open and the feeling of the intent washed over them both like a tidal wave.

Tenten grasped loudly, dropping her keys to the floor, as she took an impulse step back into Kankuro. "Neji!" she cried.

Neji sat alone in the darken apartment in a chair across the room, which was faced directly towards the door. The only thing visible were his bright white eyes and they were not pleased. Tenten grimaced as she realized his Byakugan was activated and he had seen her and Kankuro.

Kankuro turned on the light, not even admitting to himself that Neji's eyes crept him out. "What the hell are you doing in Tenten's place?" he asked angrily.

Neji deactivated his Byakugan, but his eyes never left Tenten. "Didn't realize I needed an excuse to come see my fiancée after completing a mission," he stated.

"Fiancée? What the hell are you going on about?" Kankuro asked, but his question was never answered.

"Kankuro," Tenten began softly as she pulled the strap of her dress back on her shoulder. "Please, just leave." The Sand ninja's head snapped towards her, if he didn't know better, he would think he heard fear in her voice. "Please."

"Tenten-"

"Dammit, go!" She finally looked at him, it was the first time since they had discovered Neji. Surprised at her demand, he took a step back and found himself outside. "Meet me tomorrow at our usual place. I'll explain," she instructed quietly so Neji couldn't hear as she slowly closed the door. "I'm sorry," were her final words as the door finally closed on him.

Kankuro was confused as he stared at the shut door, the matter of the situation suddenly catching up with him. "Fiancée. . ." he whispered to himself.

To Be Continued. . .

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**A/N**: This won't be a long fiction, five chapters at most (Be warned I said the same thing about my Teen Titan fic). 

And I'm not sure if I want to this be Kanten or Nejiten so just hang with me. I'm hoping to get his out fast and done by the end of March, but I promise nothing.


	2. Silencing Fear

Posted: March 11, 2006

**Chapter Two: Silencing Fear  
**

Tenten closed her eyes and sighed as the door closed shut behind Kankuro. She then turned to face Neji. He hadn't moved, not one inch. He just sat there, staring at her. She wrapped her arms herself, all of sudden feeling cold. Compared to now, she couldn't believe she once thought the silence between them was comforting. She couldn't believe she once used to like when he looked at her, but that felt so long ago, back when they were children. Both had difficult childhoods and were drawn together because of that reason, but things did not let up and it had driven Neji to be. . . she hated to say it, but cruel and an almost unforgiving man.

They were twenty-four now, grown, and unfortunately engaged. There was no arrangement as one may think, they had actually been in love at one point. But even in that love, Neji never really expressed himself, which often left Tenten to wonder why he had asked her for her hand in the first place. She still remembered that day though, they were fifteen and it wasn't the most romantic thing in her life, as all girls dream when being proposal to. Neji simply stated the reasons she would be a good wife for him and asked her to accept and so she did.

One may not have been able to tell, but Tenten had always been a little low on the self-esteem back then. She never really thought of herself as pretty, a plain Jane, she remembered always calling herself when she looked into a mirror. So she was surprised by Neji's gesture, for he was nothing less than handsome, and the top rookie of their year. He could have anyone, but he had chosen her. She would have been foolish not to say yes, because she was quite certain, she would never be asked again.

Love then blossom between them, or what Tenten would like to remember as love. He used to walk her home, every night after training and greet her in the morning, outside her front door. He was also so considerate her. Whenever he had a mission without her, when it was completed, her place would be his first stop, even before checking in with the Hokage, just to tell her that he was home in one piece, but he had stop doing that years ago. It was partly the reason, she had been so surprise to see him tonight. "I didn't expect you back for another week," she stated calmly. "It must have gone well."

Neji then stood, finally dropping his gaze from her. "I'm going to take a shower," he informed her. "Then I'm going to bed," he began as he walked off towards the bathroom. "I expect you in it."

"Is that all you have to say?" Tenten huffed loudly. "Don't you even care that I'm cheating on you!" she yelled out of frustration. "Don't you care at all?"

Neji turned his head back towards her and did the last thing she ever expected of him, he laughed. And it was a stale, detached laugh, distant in a way. It was the first time, in all the years she had know him, that she had ever heard him laugh. It frightened her. "Cheating? Are you talking about with that Sand ninja?" he asked. "He is no threat to me," he made clear before adding, "and neither is anyone in this village, for no male would dare approach you without my permission." Tenten frowned at his words. "And that Sand ninja, will most likely be going home in a matter of days and you will remain here, as you always have, as you always will, by my side."

"His name is Kankuro and it would be wise for you to remember it, because unlike you, he loves me," Neji only cocked an eyebrow. "And for your information I could leave you, you know," she threatened. "Only my word bounds me to you. One you still have no desire to make official."

A harsh smile littered Neji's face. "So you want to be my wife?" he asked. "Or you'll leave me?" He gave it thought. "Then leave," he stated.

"What?" Tenten looked at him in disbelief.

"Leave," he repeated. "Ask to go with him, see if he'll take you. If he does, consider yourself free of me. If he doesn't, I will finally make you my wife." He then walked off, without another word, down the hall.

Tenten blinked in disbelief. _What just happened here?_ she asked herself. Not really believing he was giving her the chance to be with someone else. She sighed as she took off her shoes and headed towards the bedroom to wait for Neji.

She was lying in bed, faced towards the window, when Neji finally made his way in. She felt his weight as he lowered himself beside her. His finger tips brushed the length of her arm. He said nothing, it was a silent request, and so she turned to face him. She jumped as his hand came up to her face. He gripped her chin with precision, hard enough so she couldn't move, but loose enough so not to bruise her . . . he was always careful not to leave bruises. "I've tolerated your infidelity, but _when_," he emphasized, "you become my wife, if you allow another man to touch you, I'll kill him and I'll make you watch," he threaten.

Tenten said nothing in response as his hand released her chin and caressed her neck before trailing down her body. Neji then leaned in and kissed her gently, which was a moment later returned by Tenten. He always did this; he would treat her like she was nothing more than a second class citizen, but then he would turn around and make love to her as she was the most precious thing in his life.

She wished their first time had been like this, but it was a painful event she never really cared to remember. He had been rough with her, excessively so, to the point where she cried out for him to stop. He had, of course, once seeing the tears stream down her cheeks. He then murmured something to himself, that to Tenten sounded a lot like, "I can't go through with this," before rolling off of her. Then as she wiped the tears from her face, Neji whispered to her, "Know now, that I apologize for all that I do. And hope that-" he then stopped himself. Tenten had looked to him curiously, him not being one to not complete a thought, but he didn't continue, all he did was get out of bed before dressing and returning to the Hyuuga manor.

"Neji?" Tenten whispered in the middle of the night. It wasn't often that he actually stayed and slept beside her. She called his name again before concluding he was asleep. "If I had one wish," she began softly. "I wish you never gave me reason to want to leave you," she told him before she too fell to the land of dreams.

To Be Continued. . .

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**A/N**: Yep, the story will be five chapters. 


	3. Silencing Tradition

Posted: March 12, 2006

**Chapter Three: Silencing Tradition  
**

The dawn of the morning was slowly beginning to rise when Neji's eyes opened upon the new day. "Shit," he whispered to himself as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't suppose to have stayed the whole night. He hadn't checked in with the rest of his team, and knew he was going to get an earful from the loud mouth woman they called Hokage.

Neji began to sit up, but as he tried his head suddenly jerked back. He turned his head realizing his long, dark hair was caught on something. His shoulders slumped as he saw Tenten's fingers had tangled themselves in his locks. He lifted her hand and gently loosen himself from her. He sighed as he laid back down on his side and lovingly stroked her cheek.

She was in pain and Neji knew full well that he was the cause of it. But it couldn't be helped, for like all women who were to marry into the Hyuuga clan, she had to be tested. When Neji learned of the test from his uncle Hiashi exactly a year after proposing to her, Neji had refused to put Tenten through it, but Hiashi made very clear, that the life of a Hyuuga wife was difficult and told him if she was unable to past the test, that she would break under the Hyuuga name, like his mother had.

Neji had looked to him curiously and asked him what he meant. He was then told that his father Hizashi had also refused to put the woman he was to marry to the clan's test. Hizashi had never approved of it and so married her without the rest of the families consent or approval. Neji, never knowing his mother as she had left him and the rest of their clan a few days before the whole Lightening Country incident, asked what had really happened to her. Hiashi had kept his explanation simple as he stood and said softly, "She broke," before heading out of Neji's quarters.

So Neji did the only thing he could, he began testing Tenten. She was confused at first by his sudden change towards her and asked him if there was something wrong or if it was something she had done. He hadn't even tried to answer her, it was the first time he had seen her look hurt because of him and wished that it had been the last. He then stopped coming to see her after completing missions.

The first time he had done it, it had broken _his_ heart, because she had been so used to it, that she had immediately thought the worst when the next day she had spotted a member from the team he had been assigned with walking through the village. Tenten had been shopping and had dropped all her items before making her way to the Hyuuga manor, panic lined her words as she asked the members of his family where he was and if he was alive.

After that day, Neji realized he had been lenient on her after a few of his aunts, who had married into the clan, told him what they had been through. How they had suffered from isolation from everyone except their husbands. Neji was surprised to hear that a few had been mentally abused, while others physically. Neji found it hard to believe that his uncles could be so heartless, but knew all that they told him was true. But he couldn't help but asked why they had stayed and still chose to marry his uncles, not knowing it was a test and that it would end once married.

"That's where you're wrong, my nephew," one of his aunts had began. "Yes, we chose to stay because we were blinded by the love of the Hyuuga we fell in love with, but to stand by his side is a hardship not even he could place upon you. You're own mother-" she had been cut off.

"Shush, Yuuka! We are not suppose to speak of his mother," another one of his aunts told her.

Neji's brow had furrowed. "What of my mother?" he asked, wondering why no one would ever tell him anything of her.

"He needs to know," Yuuka told his other aunt. "Or he is fated to make the same mistake as his father, Momoko. Our clan was made weak because of her actions and her betrayal!"

"Betrayal? What kind of betrayal?" Neji looked to the rest of his aunts, hoping someone would explain.

"A betrayal towards the clan, that resulted in your father's death. She's-" Yuuka was cut off.

"Yuuka, you've said too much," Momoko told her angrily as she clapped her hand over the other's mouth before standing up and taking Yuuka with her as she dragged her out the room.

Yuuka was able to remove Momoko's hand. "Do you know why you're disliked by us in the Head family?" she asked.

"Yuuka stop!" yelled another aunt.

"It's not because you're a Branch family member, it's because you're the son of that _bitch_!" she yelled before she was finally dragged from Neji's sight.

"Don't mind her, Neji," said his eldest aunt, Ami, as she stood up his remaining two aunts followed her lead. "Yuuka's still very bitter because your father chose your mother and not her. Your presence reminds her of what she could have had and the son she'll never bear." She then rested her hand on her nephew's cheek causing Neji to look up into her brown eyes. "Tenten is a sweet girl and I approve of her," she informed him.

Neji bowed his head, "Arigato, aunt Ami," he told her before he was left to himself.

He had been angry that night as he had decided to take a walk, now knowing that he wasn't allowed to know of his mother for good reason. All that time he had spent hating the Head family and his uncle, when it should had been directed towards her. His mind was clouded with conflicting emotions as he soon realized his feet had taken him to Tenten's apartment.

That night was a bit of a blur for him. He couldn't even remember how they had ended up in her bedroom, nevertheless her bed. It had been their first night together and it had started off fine, but as the conversation he had had earlier that night started to come back to him, he let his emotions slip away from him, and the anger he felt, he took out on Tenten.

He had barely registered her voice at first. "Ow, that hurts," she had told him in a whisper. "Please be- Ow, Neji!" she had called louder. "Please be gentler, it hurts," she had asked of him, but it wasn't until he felt her hands on his chest, trying to push him away as she shrugged underneath him that he realized what he was doing. "Stop!" she finally cried. "Please stop!" she begged as he saw tears escape her eyes.

Neji blinked in confusion at first, as he came back to the moment and gasped in horror as he saw her face. He quickly got off of her and then watched as she sat up and furiously wiped away her tears. He looked at her in amazement, never realizing she had ability to cry. His stomach then clenched in disgust with himself as he looked her over and saw the blood in between her legs.

Neji sighed as he closed his eyes and began softly, "Know now, that I apologize for all that I do. And hope that-" _when the time comes, you will be able to see through these lies. . . and know how much you mean to me. Causing you physical pain, I see now is something I can not do without tearing myself in two. So I beg of you to forgive me for all I'm about to put you through for the sake of the Hyuuga name. Forgive me, Tenten. Forgive me._

Neji shook his head out of his memories as he came back to the present still lying beside a sleeping Tenten. He had opted for the mental abuse and wondered if had made the right choice, for bruises heal, but scars marked upon the heart are a different story. He had said, when he had chosen to speak to her, that is, so many terrific things to her over the years, that it often surprised him she hadn't called off their engagement, not as if he left much room for that, having a 'talk' or so to speak, with anyone who had looked at her in away he didn't approve of. Most likely causing her to believe no one else would ever want her.

So he was caught off guard as he learned, only before he left for his mission two weeks ago, of the affair she was having with the Sand ninja, Kankuro. Rock Lee had sat him down, and it was one of those rare occasions where he was dead serious. "You and Tenten are my best friends, know that. I felt you needed to know about Kankuro," he had told him after explaining everything. "But I have also never approved of the way you've treated her. She deserves better and so I hope that with true love, her eyes are opened and she leaves your sorry ass." Rock Lee then stood up and left to go meet his wife, Sakura, and then Shikamaru to help him prepare for his wedding before Temari and her family arrived.

During his mission, as leader, Neji had pushed his team. They traveled all day and all night without rest to get to their destination. Neji had to get back to Konoha, he had to get back to Tenten.

Then as he sat in her darken apartment, waiting for her to come home, something strangely familiar reached his ears. He soon realized it was laughter and activated his Byakugan. His eyes widen as the sight of Tenten, kissing another man, filled his vision. She was smiling and laughing joyfully. It had been so long since Neji had seen her do either.

Is this what he had driven her to? Had he pushed her so hard, that she had to find comfort in the arms of another? He then watched as the joy fell from her face and was replaced by fear as she saw him. She probably thinks he didn't hear her as she made plans to meet the Sand ninja later on. Neji knew of their affair and she still made plans, her audacity astounded him and hurt him in a way he would never allow her to know.

They had made love last night and he always made sure to never lose out to his anger. He hoped that when they made love, that she could feel his heart's true intent and that it would be enough. He had pretended to be asleep afterwards as she whispered to him her greatest wish, she not knowing he had wish the same.

Neji sighed heavily as he finally got out of bed, he couldn't be here when she woke up. He dressed slowly before heading towards the bedroom door to leave, but paused and turned around to look at Tenten's sleeping form. She was going to leave him, he knew it, he could feel it in depths of his soul, this would be the last morning he would ever look upon her face. Neji then made his way back to the bed before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "I wish you much happiness," he hesitated, "with Kankuro."

Tenten woke up with a start as she heard something like a door being slammed. She then made a curious expression as she brought her hand up to her cheek and discovered tears that weren't her own.

To Be Continued. . .

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**A/N:** Huh, the story's coming along faster than I thought it would. 


	4. Silencing Love

Posted: March 13, 2006

**Chapter Four: Silencing Love **

"Does he hit you?"

Tenten blinked rapidly as she heard the question from Kankuro. She had been resting against his chest as he was leaning against the huge trunk of a tree, which was located far out in the woods in a clearing that only they knew. It was where they always came to get away from the village. Tenten slightly pulled away from him as she went to look into his eyes. "No," she answered his question truthfully. "Neji has never hit me in the sense you mean. Besides, I'm a kunoichi and I can take of myself."

Kankuro just looked at her for moment. He had often wondered why they never really hung around Konoha when he came to visit, but now that he really thought about it, in the time they had been seeing each other, they were either here or in her apartment. He had never thought it strange, so never once did it cross his mind that he was the other man in her life.

"Why don't I believe you?" he asked her. "You can't honestly tell me, that wasn't fear I saw in your eyes last night." He looked at her with concern. "So just tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth and I wasn't afraid," she made clear. "Just a little caught off guard. He wasn't suppose to be home for another week."

"Then what's wrong with him?" he asked, wanting to know why she was cheating on Neji.

Tenten looked at him with a confused and angry expression on her face. "Why do you care so much about Neji?"

Kankuro scoffed. "Why?" he couldn't believe she had even asked him that question. "Because he's your Goddamn fiancé!" He pushed her out from in between his legs so he could stand up. "For crying out loud," he began. "He wasn't suppose to be home for another week? And by the that time, I would have been well on my way home?" He shook his head from side to side. "You got this down to a science, don't you?"

Tenten lowered her head. "It wasn't like that. I always meant to tell you about Neji. There just never seem to be a right time."

"A right time!" he questioned loudly. "Three years, Tenten. Are you telling me that in three years, that you couldn't tell me that you were to be married to Hyuuga!"

"Please, don't be upset," she begged of him as she closed her eyes.

Kankuro dropped to his knees before her and with both hands took her face within them and made her look at him. "How can I not be upset?" he inquired. "If it had been anyone else. . . but Neji? Hyuuga Neji from the most powerful clan in your village?" He looked defeated in her eyes. "He can offer you so much. And I?" He shrugged. "I'm just Kankuro. I can't offer you anything that he can't give you a hundred fold." A tear slipped down his cheek.

"No, no, Kankuro, don't you see?" She rested her hands on top of his. "You already have," she smiled, though tears now ran down her own face as she saw his, "you offered me love. A love I thought I would never know and for that you are my heart."

Kankuro's worried eyes softened as he heard her words. "I am? So this isn't just some fling to you?" She shook her head no. Kankuro sighed in relief. "Come here," he whispered as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "Tenten," he began slowly after many moments, her still in his hold.

"Yes?"

"Do you- Do you love Konoha?"

"I do."

"And being a ninja?"

"Yes, it's what I wanted to do since I was a little girl," she explained. "It's why I joined the academy. I want to be as great as my village's Hokage."

"So you would never want to leave it, right?" he asked, but when she said nothing, he grew panic. "You know what? Let's just pretend I didn't say that and I'll never bring it up again. I'll just-"

"Ask me, Kankuro," she interrupted him as she finally pulled away from him. "Ask me."

He shook his head from side to side, he didn't want to be the reason she gave up her dream. "But-"

"Just go on."

Kankuro took a deep breath before he began. "Tenten, would you leave Konoha for me? Would you come to the Wind Country and there be made my wife?"

Tenten nodded her head as grinned from ear to ear. "Of course," she answered as she leaned into him and pressed his lips against her own where she then slightly opened her month and licked his soft lips. Kankuro sighed happily with the gesture as he opened his own mouth and his tongue was meet by hers. He then placed his hand on the back of her head before pulling her closer to deepen their kiss.

Tenten's hands found the bottom on his shirt before sliding them up his strong board chest. They broke their kiss only long enough to pull his shirt over his head. They then worked with an amazing speed as they striped the other of their clothing and threw them about without a care. Moments later, Tenten was lying on her back as Kankuro sat beside her, his hands on either side of her hips as they found the cotton fabric of her panties.

He tugged at them playfully as he waggled his eyebrows, causing Tenten to laugh. Then all of a sudden, Kankuro straighted up, a frown on his face. He then began looking around. "Kankuro?" Tenten sat up on her elbows. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asked with a smile.

Kankuro continued to look around. "I don't- There was- I thought- " he stammered. "Nothing," he finally concluded before turning his attention back to the woman next to him and continuing where he left off.

As they made love, in the middle of the day, out in the middle of nowhere, Tenten's closed her eyes and buried her face in the nape of Kankuro's neck when again, he stopped completely and looked around. Tenten looked at him, not knowing whether to be upset or concerned. "Okay, Kankuro, what is it?" she was annoyed.

He pulled away from her and grabbed her shirt before handing it to her. "Get dressed," he demanded sharply.

"What? Why?" she whined as she sat up. "I mean, I haven't even," she began, a blush running across her checks, "you know." Her head bounced impatiently as her eyes widen.

Kankuro laughed as he bent over and gave her the rest of her things. "I'll make it up too you," he promised before kissing her. "So please," he urged her to get dressed. Once dressed they started their way back to the village, hand in hand. "In two days, meet me at your village's gate at dawn."

Tenten nodded her head. "Kankuro," she licked her lips, "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you never asked me to-"

"Give up being a ninja?" he completed her thought. He then looked at her and smiled. "I know. I plan on having a word with Gaara. If you want, we can transfer your status and you become a Sand ninja." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. His smile then fell as he realized there wasn't one on her face. He thought that would have made her happy. "What?"

"I love you," she said simply.

"I love you too," he told her before finally seeing a smile come to her face. As they continued to leap from tree to tree Kankuro turned his head to look behind him and though no sound came from his mouth he slowly articulated several words.

"Better luck next time, Hyuuga," Neji read the lips of Kankuro. He fumed silently before he lost his composure, when he did he screamed and cursed at the top of his lungs, causing the birds in the near by trees to scatter in all directions.

Tenten's forehead creased. "Did you hear something?" she asked.

"Nope, not a thing," he answered quickly, not looking at her as he gripped her hand securely and quickened their pace.

To Be Continued. . .


	5. Silencing Dreams

Posted: March 16, 2006

**Chapter Five: Silencing Dreams**

It was a little less than an hour before dawn when Tenten woke up in her bed to find she was not alone within it. Out of all the nights, Tenten had wished to wake up to find Neji sleeping beside her, last night was not one of them. She slowly tried to slip out of bed, but Neji slightly groan in his sleep as he tightened his hold around her. Tenten cringed as she carefully tried to remove his arm before finally getting out of bed.

She then dressed quickly and instead of her usually twin buns, she simply threw her long brown hair in a ponytail before grabbing her bag out the closet. She cursed at herself, for not packing sooner. She had meant to do it last night, but Neji had decided to come over. Tenten then went into the bathroom to wash up a little before coming back into the room.

She squeaked as she dropped her items to the floor. "Going somewhere?" Neji was sitting up with his legs thrown over the bed as he faced Tenten. She squatted to the floor to gather her things in her arms, before walking over to her side of her bed and placing them in her bag. "I asked you a question." Neji turned to see her actions.

Tenten looked into his eyes. "I thought the answer looked pretty obvious," she replied. "I'm leaving you."

"No," Neji told her.

"No?" she questioned as she closed her back. "I don't think you understand, Neji. I wasn't asking your permission. Beside, we had a deal. He wants me to go with him. Our engagement is over. I've finally found someone who loves me." She then picked up her bag, walked around the bed pass Neji and headed towards the door.

Then as quick as lightening, Neji had grabbed Tenten's arm and turned her to face him. "You can't leave-"

"Like hell I can't," she told him angrily. "Now let go of me."

"No, you have to hear the truth about my clan's tradition. About why I-"

"I don't have to hear anything, Neji. Now let go of me!" she began to struggle against him, which made him have to hold on to her with both hands, which caused her to drop her bag.

"I never meant for you to feel that you weren't loved by me!" he tried to tell her.

"Lies!" she yelled before spitting in his face. "You don't know how to love," she said bitterly. "You're just a cold, heartless bastard." Neji frowned as he wiped the spit off his face. His grip on her grew firmer as he grew angry. "Ow!" Tenten's hand quickly tried to pry his fingers off. "You're hurting-" she stopped as she looked into Neji's eyes. He was looking at her in a way she had never seen before. Her eyes then grew wide as she opened her mouth. . .

. . . _and a scream was heard_.

OoOoO

Kankuro waited anxiously at Konoha's gate, waiting for Tenten just as they had planned. His family and those from his village who had attended Temari's wedding slowly started to arrive. Temari came out to wish her brothers a safe journey and to complain about Shikamaru, who didn't want to get out of bed and come with her. But Kankuro wasn't really in the mood for his sister's never ending bitching, so his attention drifted back to the crowd as his eyes scanned their surroundings.

"What do you keep looking for?" Gaara asked, not out of curiosity, but annoyance.

"None of your damn business," Kankuro snapped before loosely crossing his arms and beginning to pace back and forth. "Where is she?" Kankuro spoke to himself. "I know I told her dawn."

Temari shook her head as she rolled her eyes, herself wondering, why Gaara always let Kankuro get away with the rude things he always said to him. "Boys," she said under her breath, but now that Gaara had mentioned it, Kankuro did seem a little on edge. She watched him for a moment, as he began biting his nails, something she couldn't remember him doing since they were all little.

"Kankuro?" She made her way to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to her. "What's wrong, little brother?"

He shook his head from side to side. "She's never going to leave Konoha," he confessed to her his fears. "She's never going to leave him."

"We're leaving," Gaara announced turning his back on his siblings as he began out the gate.

"Shit!" Kankuro cried. "Come on, Tenten."

"Tenten? You mean Hyuuga's fiancée?" Temari asked.

_Did everyone know, but me?_ he asked himself. "Yes," he answered her. "We've been seeing each other for a few years now." Temari gave him a horrified look. "I know. I know." He then waved his hands in front of himself. "I mean, I didn't know," he groaned, feeling like he wanted to pull out his own hair. "Not until the other day. Anyway, she said she would leave him for me. She said she would be here." Temari looked at her brother's crestfallen face, she had never seen him look this way before. "And I believed her."

Temari placed her hand on her little brother's shoulder. She wanted to say something comforting, but Kankuro only shook her off before turning around and falling into place behind Gaara.

Temari waved her hand, sad to see the members of her former village go. "Bye, Gaara," she called. "Bye-"

"_KANKURO!_" Temari gasped and turned around as she heard her brother's name being yelled loud enough to wake up half of Konoha. "Get your ass back here!" demanded Hyuuga Neji walking towards them, looking as if he had had a rough morning.

He was dressed only in a pair of sleeping pants, his lean chiseled chest was stained with something red. His unremarkable well kept hair was a wild mess, and his usual unreadable face was overcome with so many emotions that if you didn't see it for yourself, you would have said it was impossible. Plus there was something else on Neji's face that looked out of place. A red mark, on the right side of his eye, running down from his hairline down to his chin – he had been cut. Not deep enough to really hurt him, but maybe just enough to catch him off guard long enough to give him that black eye that was already starting to show up.

"Where is she!" he asked, pushing past Temari, which caused her to loose her balance and fall on her butt. Neji than grabbed Kankuro by the front of his shirt and yanked him close to his face. "Where's Tenten?" he wanted to know.

Hearing the commotion, Gaara turned around to see his brother being harassed and his sister picking herself up off the ground. Temari's then noticed the cork tugging out of Gaara's gourd, she gasped as her eyes widen and she barely shook her head no. Heeding to his sister, the cork stopped and his attention fell back to Kankuro.

"Don't touch me!" Kankuro pushed Neji off of him. "She chose you, because she isn't here!"

"Bullshit! She left the apartment on her way here. So where is she?" He took another step towards his rival.

"Neji-san!" Temari got his attention. "Kankuro speaks the truth. Tenten is not here."

"That has to be a lie. Where else would she go?" Then from the distance a faint barking could be heard. As it grew stronger, the trees began to rumble, causing the leaves break away from their branches and glide gently towards the ground. "Akamaru," Neji said to himself as the large dog emerged from the surrounding forest went someone riding on their back.

The person's head laid on the back of Akamaru's neck. Blood stained the dog's normally white coat. Neji took a sharp intake of air as he realized it wasn't Kibe, but, "Tenten!" he yelled out and in a moment's notice was by Akamaru's side. Akamaru whimpered as he lowered himself to the ground so Neji could take her off his back. He pulled her to his arms. "What happened?" As several other people, including Kankuro, stood behind him.

Her hair was skewed and her face dirty and coved in blood, her clothes torn, and her breath shallow as she spoke. "Kiba-" she began in pants. "In trouble-" her eyes closed. "Help- he needs- help." She then fainted.

Kankuro stepped forward and lowered himself onto the ground before Neji and Tenten. His hand went out and he stroke her head tenderly. "She's lost a lot of blood," he informed Neji as he looked over Tenten. "She needs a hospital."

"I know that," Neji looked up to glare at him.

Kankuro stood up. "Then get your ass going," he commanded. He then turned to his sister. "Temari go with them," he asked of her. "I'm going after Kiba. It's not like it would be the first time I've had to go after him." He hopped on Akamaru's back for him to take him to Kiba. Kankuro then looked to his brother, who only nodded, indicating he would there if needed.

"You never get tired of people knowing that, do you?" The crowd heard a voice nearby. It was Kiba, looking just as bad, if not worse, as Tenten. "The threat has been neutralized," he informed them, before he too fell over and hit the ground.

OoOoO

_She's strong, she'll live_, Neji repeated to himself, over and over as he waited outside the surgery room. They had learned, after bringing her to the hospital that she had three cracked ribs, a broken leg, a large stab wound on her lower abdomen, and that she was bleeding internally. Her surgery had gone well, though her conditional was still labeled critical. So it seemed as if it was all up to Tenten now and so Neji patiently waited for her to wake up.

On the other side of him waited Kankuro with his sister, Temari. Gaara and the rest had headed back to their own village. Kankuro's head was on her lap and he faced away from Neji. He was curled up into himself as Temari stroked his brown hair and whispered something comforting to him that caused him to nod his head.

Neji, though he hated to admit it, was a bit jealous of Kankuro at this point. For most part, Tenten was all Neji had. His family, the rest of the Hyuuga clan, would never truly accept him, even if he was genius among them, his mother's blood, that ran through his veins, tainted him long before he ever received his curse seal.

With that thought, his mind wondered to Hinata, who never judge people the way the rest of the clan did. Neji wondered if things had been different, maybe their relationship could have been salvaged and they could have grown up more like brother and sister, instead of him always treating her like a nuisance, but it was too late to be thinking like that now.

Suddenly, the door to Tenten's room opened. Neji looked towards the door and Kankuro sat up and turned his torso and as both awaited the latest update. The medical nin, who had gone to check on her earlier, didn't look at either of them as he came out with his head lowered. "Does the girl have family?" he asked.

"No," Neji stood as she answered. "She is the the last of her clan."

"Then I see no reason to wait," the medical nin concluded. "I'm sorry-"

"No!" Kankuro yelled out as he stood.

"-but she will not survive beyond the night," he informed them. "She has woken up though and she wishes to see her fiancé." Both Neji and Kankuro took a step forward and then glowed at each at other. The medical nin looked confused for a moment before he spoke again. "She said his name was-" both turned their heads back towards him, "was Kankuro."

Kankuro hesitated not one moment as he ran passed the medical nin, but stopped at the door to beckon Temari. Who stood up gingerly and then walked passed Neji, who looked stunned in place for a moment before turning his head away from her gaze. Temari then hurried along to be with her brother.

Neji, realizing he had no place here anymore, turned around and walked out. He soon found himself looking up the stairs that led to Tenten's apartment and so he made his way up and back inside. He slowly began to walk down the hall, never before realizing how quiet and still the place was before coming to stop at the doorway into the bedroom. He then rested his hand on the door frame before he lowered his head and closed his eyes. His shoulders began to shake uncontrollably as tears, one-by-one, shattered to the cold floor beneath him.

Overwhelmed by his emotions, Neji fell to his knees, where he began sobbing. This was his family's fault and their stupid traditions that made no sense. As he now saw the engagement tradition for what it really was. It was to instill fear, to obtain a forced loyalty. Making it clear to the spouse, entering into the family, that though all mistreatment came to an end with marriage, that to keep peace among them that she had to obey her husband, and never question him. Always fearing that one wrong move, one wrong word, would set them back into the way things used to be. Forced loyalty.

Neji, never wanted that for he and Tenten, but felt he had no choice seeming as he was already looked down upon in his family. He should have denounced his name, he thought. They should have left Konoha as soon as he learned about the tradition. Maybe then, she wouldn't be spending her last moments with Kankuro. Maybe then, she would have known how much he loved her.

"_I never meant for you to feel that you weren't loved by me!" Neji tried to tell her._

"_Lies!" she yelled before spitting in his face. "You don't know how to love," she said bitterly. "You're just a cold, heartless bastard." Neji frowned as he wiped the spit off his face. His grip on her grew firmer as he grew angry. "Ow!" Tenten's hand quickly tried to pry his fingers off. "You're hurting-" she stopped as she looked into Neji's eyes. He was looking at her in a way she had never seen before. Her eyes then grew wide as she opened her mouth and a moment later, a Kunai appeared out of nowhere, as it often did when it came to Tenten, and with an upward motion she marred Neji's beautiful face._

_Neji screamed, never expecting her to attack him, and so he was really surprised to see her small fist strike with an incredible force, causing him to lose his footing. He hit his head on the edge of the dresser on his way down before he collided with the floor. He groaned as he laid there. _

_Tenten quickly picked up her bag. Breathing heavily, she clung the bag close to the chest as she took a step back. "We had a deal, Hyuuga. And you're going to keep it, even if I have to force you. Because dammit, I'm going to be happy. Do you hear me? I'm going to be happy." She smiled at the thought. "With Kankuro," she breathed. "Until the day I die, I'm going to be happy with Kankuro, because I need that- No! I deserve that." She then laughed. "I'm going to be happy and I'm going to be loved." She continued to laugh, and it was a laugh full of hope, full of joy, a laugh Neji had never heard escape from her lips before. She then punched him one more time for good measure, before she left him knocked out of the bedroom floor._

As Neji finally tried to compose himself, he tried to stand up, but couldn't as more tears broke through and he fell back to the floor, in the same position Tenten had left him in only two days before. A few minutes later, he heard the impossible, he heard laugher, Tenten's laughter and quickly sat up and got to his feet. He ran out the room and down the hall as he followed the laughter. "Tenten?" he cried out, thinking maybe it had been a dream, but as he reached the living room he knew all that had occurred was real.

Neji stood in the silence and it was dreadfully painful, but as he heard her laugh echoing in the back of his mind, he realized it would be that sweet laugh that would forever haunt him. Her spirited laugh so full of dreams for the future, that somehow, he always knew, never included him. . .

**The End

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**A/N: **Alright, I plan on writing a story that intertwines with this one, so don't worry about Kiba. Though the story may be a long way off, I'm going to try to finish up one of my other WIP stories first. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed my story.


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